You will need to sign on with your LLLID (La Leche League ID) before you can post. If you have never claimed your LLLID, create your LLLID now. To sign in, click the LLLID Sign On button in the upper right corner. Enter your LLLID Alias and click the button again.

Re: Not sure whether to wean or not- almost 14 mo

It's fine to just go ahead of breastfeeding him whenever you like! Nurse him to bed, in the middle of the night-as long as it's not every hour, it's probably OK! Trying to put him down to sleep without nursing is just harder-why do it-make life easier!

He's only 14 months, I can *guarantee* you he will be sleeping through the night before you know it-without you doing anything at all-really!

To give you an idea, here was what my son did:

1 year - nurse to sleep and nurse approx 2 times during the night
18 months - nurse to sleep and approx 1 time during the night, with some nights sleeping through
2 years - nurse to night, yep, and sleeping through most nights

All on his own schedule.

Canadian mom and breastmilk fan.
We have 2 beautiful children: Luana who's 9 y/o, had breastmilk for 2 years and is smart as a whip. Lucas who came out kickin', is 4 y/o and continues to enjoy his milkies.

Re: Not sure whether to wean or not- almost 14 mo

whoops

Canadian mom and breastmilk fan.
We have 2 beautiful children: Luana who's 9 y/o, had breastmilk for 2 years and is smart as a whip. Lucas who came out kickin', is 4 y/o and continues to enjoy his milkies.

Re: Not sure whether to wean or not- almost 14 mo

Not all children only nurse twice a night at a year and transition as easily as yours, on their own, monika.h. You are very lucky.

Your baby might be teething, OP. Is it really that important to you that he sleep ALL the way through the night? It sounds like he didn't wake until 3 am? That is amazing. My 20 month only woke up once last night - which was pretty darn good for us. And I went and nursed her back to sleep as soon as she woke up. Normally she wakes up at least twice, and sometimes more. You shouldn't feel like you have to night wean just because the health visitor said to. You don't have to substitute water for nursing, if you don't want to.

Also, my children have wanted to nurse more than once an hour at night when teething, when ill, going through major separation anxiety and sometimes right before some developmental milestone. I'm not sure why it's a problem if they want to nurse once an hour.

Re: Not sure whether to wean or not- almost 14 mo

Not all children only nurse twice a night at a year and transition as easily as yours, on their own, monika.h. You are very lucky.

I know not all children are going to be like my son! My daughter sure wasn't! I think what I was trying to say is children will all sleep through the night eventually. Which IS true.

Canadian mom and breastmilk fan.
We have 2 beautiful children: Luana who's 9 y/o, had breastmilk for 2 years and is smart as a whip. Lucas who came out kickin', is 4 y/o and continues to enjoy his milkies.

Re: Not sure whether to wean or not- almost 14 mo

I want to say that when I wanted to make sure my son could put himself to sleep without nursing I would lay down with him, nurse him and when I felt like my breast was empty rather than switching sides and letting him fall asleep on side two, I flip him and spoon him to sleep. I also kept a sippy cup of water next to the bed so that if he WAS thirsty after the flip and spoon it was available. I did this after his 1st b-day but before his 2nd. We probably started right around 14months. And also, as long as you are nursing your child at least THREE TIMES in a 24hour period, you don't need to replace with cow's milk. Because breastmilk is actually higher in fat content than Dairy. So make a point of nursing him at least three times (vs. two) and then you don't have to worry about replacing with dairy. I tried to start to feed my kid whole milk after the year point. He had no real interest until after his 2nd bday. As long as you are still breastfeeding there is no real pressure around them taking dairy.

Re: Not sure whether to wean or not- almost 14 mo

Thanks again for all your help.
My boy is still waking in the night and feeding a couple of times in the day too. It is good to know that he will stop eventually. I suppose I'm a bit torn because it does make me tired feeding in the night and this has an effect on the rest of the family. Will he just stop by himself? If I got a cuddle and a nice warm drink in the night I'd probably carry on!!

Re: Not sure whether to wean or not- almost 14 mo

He will eventually stop by himself, I promise! He's not going to be 5 years old and still waking to nurse- though he may still wake at night and need someone to come in and help him back to sleep! The main issue with self-weaning from night nursing is the time span involved. He could still be nursing at night when he's 2 or even 3 years old. This is why a lot of moms ultimately push the process a little, and do mama-led weaning (as opposed to baby-led weaning) for the most irksome feedings. There's no-one here who will judge you for choosing to continue night nursing, or for choosing night-weaning. It's a very personal choice and there's no one right way to do things!